Melbourne City hand first pro deal to Young Socceroo with

Melbourne City hand first pro deal to Young Socceroo with ‘bright future ahead of him’

Melbourne City have announced 17-year-old defender Peter Antoniou has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Joining City aged 11, Antoniou becomes just the third player in club history to have progressed through the entirety of their Player Development Pathway and will now join the first team squad this season after signing a three-year scholarship deal.

A versatile defender who can operate across the backline as well as in midfield, Antoniou follows in the footsteps of fellow graduates Jayden Necovski and Lawrence Wong who recently penned their first professional contracts with the club ahead of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.

Petrillo continued: “He has a bright future ahead of him, and with hard work and a commitment to constantly improve, we believe he can become an important player for our squad in the years to come.”

DONE DEAL: Melbourne City teen becomes just second player to achieve academy feat after signing first pro deal

Having already represented Australia at U16 and U17 level, Antoniou was then selected for the recent Subway Young Socceroos squad at the ASEAN U19 Boys’ Championships.

“Not many players have worked as hard and deserve this opportunity more than Peter,” said Melbourne City’s Senior Academy Manager, Simon Zappia,

“The staff amongst the Academy are very excited to see him earn this opportunity and are confident he will grab it with both hands.”

Now aiming to compete with incumbent right back Callum Talbot for minutes this coming Isuzu UTE A-League season, Antoniou says he’s delighted to have put pen-to-paper on his new deal.

“I’ve been working hard towards this for years, so it’s a really special moment for myself and my family.

“Right now, I’m fully focused on getting fit and doing everything I can to continue to develop and hopefully get some first team minutes this season.”